A Cup of Coffee
by cupcakeluver111
Summary: Annabeth runs a successful Architecture firm. She's running late for a very important meeting with a new client. When a handsome young man spills coffee on her in Starbucks, will her life change forever? Percabeth! Rated T
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

I hate mondays. I truly do. I always have meetings, and I'm always rushed. Today, was no exeption.

I walked into the Starbucks located right below my apartment complex, and surveyed the familiar store. I came here so often, there was a picture of me and my roomate, Thalia Grace, on the wall. I made coffee trips 2-3 times a day, and this is my favorite place to go. I'm not completely sure why, but it just has this different atmosphere. I stood in line, fidgeting. I had a meeting to go to, and it was an important one. I didn't really want to go, but it was vital for my job.

I'm the CEO of Athens Architecture. I enjoy designing the buildings themselves, but I have to do everything else at the same time. The line was unusually slow today, so I took out my phone and checked for any updates from co-workers.

"The usual, Ms. Chase?" The barista, Steve, asked. I'm pretty sure he had a crush on me, but most of the time I just ignored him.

"Yes, please. Thank you, Steve!" Just because I ignore him, it doesn't mean I'm going to be rude...

I sat down at a table, and took out some files to review for my meeting.

"Ms. Chase, your coffee!" I checked the time while going up to the counter, and realized I only had 10 minutes to get to my office.

I grabbed my coffee, yelled a thank you, and rushed towards the door. But while my head was turned, I felt my self crash into something. And then a second later, I felt a scolding hot liquid splash onto my body, soaking me. I gasped from the pain, and the shock.

"Oh, oh my god, I am so sorry! I should have looked where I was going. I am so sorry, I'll buy you some new clothes-" the man rambled on.

"No, it's okay, really. It's totally fine." I looked up to see who crashed into my. My eyes met a perfectly sculpted, muscled body, a goofily smiling face with the most amazing sea green eyes, and tousled, unruly black hair.

"uh... Annabeth. Annabeth Chase." I said, while sticking my hand out.

He shook it, and tingles were sent up my arm. "Percy Jackson."

He looked down, and noticed the soggy papers in my hand.

"Oh, let me help you with that... those look like some pretty important papers."

He glanced around the cafe, then grabbed my hand and started dragging me to the back of the store.

"Come with me!"

He led me into the family bathroom, and took the papers from me. He held them out under the hand dryer, so that they could dry.

While he was doing this, I texted my assistant and told her I would be late. Then, I called Thalia to tell her to bring me some clothes.

"Hey, Thalia. Can you do something for me?"

"Eh... it depends."

"Ugh. Well, I need you to go and get me some work clothes from my closet, and bring them to the Starbucks below the apartments. I spilled coffee on the stuff I'm wearing now."

"Ugh... fine. I'll be there in 5."

"Thank you Thalia! You're a life saver!"

I paced the tiny bathroom, and after about 4 minutes, I stepped outside the room to see if Thalia had gotten there yet. I saw her in the front, so I waved, and propped the door open. She came back.

"Here's your stupid clothes. Ugh, why'd you have to wake me up?" She's not a morning person.

"I was not about to go to a very important meeting in coffee drenched clothes."

Thalia seemed to take notice of the room, so she saw Percy. "Who's he?"

"Oh, that's Percy. He's the one who spilt the coffee on me."

At hearing his name, he turned around, smiled and waved. Then he continued to dry my papers.

I left Thalia in confusion, walked over to the girls bathroom, and changed.

When I was done fixing my self up, Thalia was talking to Percy.

"Hey, Thalia, you think you could take these to the dry cleaners for me? Thanks." I said, not really giving her a choice.

I heard her grumble and stubbornly leave the cafe.

"Oh, I'll pay for the dry cleaning. I'll even pick it up for you. Please, it's the least I could do." Percy said.

"OH, are you sure? It's really not necessary."

"No, it's my pleasure. Here, take my card. Call me when the dry cleanings done, and I'll pick it up. You live in the apartments above here, right? So do I, so it'll be no problem at all." He seemed like he wasn't going to accept no as an answer, so I gave in.

"Thank you. Really."

* * *

I rushed into my office, already 30 minutes late for my appointment.

"Alexandra, are they in there?" I asked my assistant. She nodded fiercely.

I opened the doors to the conference room.

"I am so sorry I am late, I ran into a little trouble a—oh..." I looked up to see who my next client was. "Percy?..."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

"I am so sorry I am late, I ran into a little trouble a—oh..." I looked up to see who my next client was. "Percy?..."

I walked into the room to see my mother, who owned Athens Architecture, sitting across from two men. They looked very similar, they both had black hair and sea green eyes, but one was younger than the other.

"Annabeth?" Percy's eyes were clouded with confusion.

"Wait, you two know each other?" My mother, Athena, said glancing at each of us.

"Yeah, uh... we meet at Starbucks today. We kinda... crashed into each other, and coffee spilled all over me. That's why we were late." I said while sitting down. I kept glancing at Percy. He was wearing a suit now, and he looked positively HOT!

I set down the files needed for the meeting. "What happened to those?" My mother asked when she saw the crinkled, coffee stained papers.

"Coffee spilled on that too..." I explained.

As the meeting continued, I learned that Percy and his father, Posiedon, co-owned Trident Inc., a business that made and operated cruise ships. They wanted a new head quarters, and they wanted us to design and build it.

By the end of the meeting, it was already lunch time. I walked out of the conference room, and headed to my office. I sat down in my soft, comfy chair, when there was a knock on my door.

"Hey." I looked up to see Percy's perfect little face.

"I was wondering.. um... if I could interest you into some lunch?" He said, with a half-grin splayed on his face.

"Are you asking me out? On a date?" I said, while grinning.

"That depends—do you want it to be a date?"

I giggled. It had been a long time since I had done that. "Sure. Wait outside, I'll be there in a sec."

He gently closed the door, and as soon as he did that, I started hyperventilating. I hadn't been on a date in almost a year and a half. I re-aplied some make up, and grabbed my bag.

"Ready to go?" I said as I walked out of my office, spotting Percy leaning against a wall.

"Yeah. There's a little restaurant close to here that I know of. It's not too far, I think we can walk." He said, while holding his arm out to me. I slipped my arm through his, and walked towards the elevator. As the elevator door closed, I saw my mother staring at us disapprovingly, but I chose to ignore it.

* * *

"So, what's your favorite color?" I asked.

"Hmm... blue. Yours?"

"Grey... or green. I can't decide." Ever since I had seen his amazing eyes, I had fallen in love with the color. He smiled.

Our food came then. We were at a little Italian restaurant, so I ordered fetuccini alfredo.

"Here's the spaghetti and meatballs," the waitress said, setting down Percy's plate. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her wink at him, but he was too absorbed him his food to notice.

"And here, is the fetuccini alfredo." I could here the disdain in her voice. To top it off, she slammed the plate onto the table.

"I'll be back with your drinks soon."

Percy was already digging into his meal, and he had marinara sauce all over his face. I giggled, for the second time today, and his face.

"Wha?" He said, with food in his mouth.

"You have food all over your face. Didn't anyone teach you not to talk with food in your mouth?" I said, smiling. I saw his cheeks go red as he wiped his face with the napkin.

"Sorry. I just haven't been to this restaurant in a long time. I forgot how good it was." He smiled, and looked into my eyes. I stared into his, mesmerized by the beauty of them. Just then, the waitress came back.

"Here are your drinks." Again, she slammed mine down on the table, causing it to slosh out of the cup, and onto my clothes. Again. The waitress left without another word, but I saw a small smirk on her face.

"Wow, today is just not your day, it?" Percy said, while getting out of his seat to help me.

"Yeah, I guess not." He called over a different waiter, and asked for a few take-out boxes. Then, I saw him walk over to the main desk, and I saw him talk to the manager. I started to wipe my shirt, but it wasn't helping much. I glanced at Percy again, and this time the waitress was with them. The manager was yelling at her. I smirked to myself.

"Hey. Sorry about that. I'm pretty sure the waitress just got fired though."

I laughed. "Hey, I think there's a clothing store across the street, would you mind going with me?"

"No, not at all! And, I'll pay for whatever you buy. It's my fault anyways. The waitress just couldn't resist my charming good looks!"

I laughed, but I couldn't help but agree. We grabbed the take out, and headed over to the boutique across the street.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

The boutique had lots of nice dress clothes, so it was the perfect place to shop.

"Annabeth?" I looked around, and saw one of my good friends from college that I hadn't seen for a while.

"Piper! What are you doing here?" I said, while hugging her.

"Silena owns the shop, so I help her out every once in a while. What happened to you?" she asked when she noticed my stained clothes.

"Soda spilled on me..." I replied grimly.

"Who's that?" She said, refering to Percy, in a flirty way. I knew she wasn't actually interested in him, because she had a boyfriend.

"Oh, that's Percy. He's a client of mine. We were having lunch when the soda spilled." The sparkle in Percy's eyes seemed to dull when I refered to him as a client, but I ignored it.

"Well, let's get you fixed up!"

Piper found millions of outfits for me to try on—some were too casual, some were to fancy, and most were just not my style. I walked out of the dressing room confidently in a little black dress. It had a v-neck, with tank-top style straps. It went down to my mid thighs, with a tight fit all the way through. It also had a thin gray belt around the waist. When I came out of the dressing room, I heard Piper clap, and I heard Percy gasp.

"Well. What do you think?" I asked.

"Oh, that's definitely the one! If only Silena were here..." Piper gushed, while running to the cash register.

"You look... amazing. Really." Percy said shyly. I felt my cheeks get red.

"Cash or Card?" Piper said, interupting our moment.

"Oh, uh... I'll be paying for that, so card." Percy said before I could answer.

"Percy, you really don't have to do that."

"No, I want to. Besides, it was my fault." I sighed in defeat.

Piper rung us up, and sent us out the door. But just before I walked out, she whispered in my ear.

"Don't let him go. He's a keeper."

* * *

We went our separate ways, me to my office, him to his.

I walked onto the 4th floor, where my office was, and headed to my office.

"Annabeth? Your mother would like to see you." Alexandra said quickly. She was still pretty new, so she was still getting used to everything.

I walked over to my mother's office, and knocked.

"Come in." I heard faintly.

I opened the door. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes. Close the door please." I did as she said. "It's about Percy. His father and I... have a bad history. I don't trust him. I don't want you getting involved with them Annabeth."

I scowled. "Mother, I'm not a child anymore. If I find out he's a jerk, and he's not worth my time, then I'll stop hanging around him. But you can't judge someone based off who their parents are."

She grimaced. "Fine. But I don't want you to get hurt. Remember what happened last time."

I stormed out of the office. There was no need for her to mention that. It was in the past, and I had gotten over it.

* * *

"So, what happened with the cute coffee boy?" Thalia asked as I came into the apartment.

"His name is Percy, and I'm pretty sure I told you that. And it turns out, he is my new client."

"What are you wearing?" Thalia asked, realizing I wasn't wearing the things she brought me.

I sighed. "At lunch, soda spilled on my clothes, so I went out and bought this."

"Oh, okay!" She said, turning on the tv.

"I'm going to go take a shower then go to sleep, so don't bother me."

I took time to reflect on the day, and what happened. When sleep finally reached me, I was plagued by a nightmare I hadn't had in years.

_I was walking to my favorite restaurant, for my 3 year anniversary with my boyfriend. I wore a new dress. It was gray, with silver sequence scattered on it. It flowed down to my knees, and there was an elastic band around my waist. My shoes clicked on the ground. I opened the door to the restaurant._

"_Reservations for Castellan." _

"_Sure, right this way, Miss."_

_He led me to the back room. It was beautiful, the architecture was amazing. But then, My eye caught something not as pleasant. _

"_LUKE?" I yelled at my boyfriend, who was currently lip-locking with some brunette that I'm pretty sure was an intern at his work. _

"_A-Annabeth, what are you doing here?"_

"_It's our freaking anniversary. How long has THAT been going on?"_

_Then the brunette piped up. "What is she talking about? It's OUR anniversary, right Lukie?"_

_I laughed at that. "Wow. I guess he didn't tell you, either. He's my boyfriend—well, ex, now—of 3 years, to the day."_

_The brunette paled. Luke looked flabberghasted. I took it as an opportunity. I walked right up to him, and slapped him square on the face. Then I fled, tears spilling down my face. _

I woke up with a start. It had been a long time since I had relived that moment. I looked at my clock, and it was 1:12 in the morning. I shuffled myself to the kitchen and grabbed a big glass of water. I sat on the couch, and turned the tv on to my favorite show, Psych.

"_Told you so. Touche."_

"_You can't touche yourself."_

"_Sure I can. Your bad."_

"_It's not my bad. You can't 'my bad' for someone else."_

"_Yeah, but you ain't mad at it, though. Know what you saying?"_

I laughed. Soon, I fell asleep, to the soothing comedy of Psych.

When I woke up, Psych was still playing.

"_Percy Dunn the lightning thief?"_

"_It's Percy Jackson, Shawn."_

"_I've heard it both ways."_

**(These are both lines from the show! It's a really good show, to anyone who hasn't seen it. The first line was from season 3, episode 9. The second one was from season 5, episode 7!)**

Huh. That was weird. I don't think Percy Jackson is that common a name. Must be a coincidence. I noticed the time, and realized it was 6:45. I got up, and took a shower. When I got out, Thalia was up, too.

"Hey. I heard you get up last night. You okay?"

I smiled. "yeah. I'm fine now, but I had the dream again."

She smiled weakly at me. "Well... it's okay. It was in the past. You're over it. You've got a new boyfriend now, anyways!"

"He's not my boyfriend, Thalia!"

"Oh.. Sure..."

I smiled, and headed out the door. I walked towards the door, wary about the day ahead of me. With my luck, something was bound to go wrong. I clicked the button for the elevator, and waited impatiently. After a few minutes, the door finally opened, revealing another person inside. When I saw who it was, I smiled.

"Hey... Long time, no see, right?"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

"MALCOM!" I shouted, as I threw my arms around his neck. "What are you doing here?"

He smiled. "I decided to come visit you. How long has it been, 4? 5 years?"

"4, I believe. You should come to work with me! You can say high to mom, too."

He nodded, and the elevator started on the slow decent to the lobby.

PAGE BREAK

"Have you seen my office before? I don't think you have..." I said, taking a sip of my coffee.

"No, I think this is the new office. Can I have a tour?" He asked.

I nodded and smiled.  
"Alright, so this is my assistant Alexandra."

They exchanged greetings.

We continued walking. "So this is mom's office, but whenever the door's closed it means she's busy so I'll show you her office later. And, this way, is my office!" I explained while walking. I opened the door to my office, and flicked the light switch on.

As the lights flickered on, I was met by a pleasent surprise. There was a beautiful vase full of lillies and roses sitting on my desk.

"oh..." I muttered as I saw them. I saw Malcom raise his eyebrow at them. He was always very protective. I opened the card.

Dear Annabeth,  
I'm sorry about all the clothes I ruined in a day... But I'm glad I met you at that coffee shop. I think it was much better than just meeting you in a business meeting. I'll see you later today. I hope you liked the flowers!  
-Percy

I must have stared at that card for a while, because I heard Malcom clear his throat. I glanced at him, and he looked very uncomfortable.

"Oh, sorry! So um... This is my office! It's got a great veiw and it's very roomy..." i started rambling, trying to change the subject, but it didn't work very well.

"Annabeth, who were the flowers from?" He asked skeptically.

"Uhm..." Luckily, before I actually had to answer, my mother walked in my office.

"Oh, Malcom! It's so good to see you." she said, hugging him. Then she saw the flowers. "Oh, that's what he was doing..." i heard her mutter. I sent her a confused glance, and she explained.

"Earlier this morning, I heard Percy come in the office, and he asked Alexandra if he could drop something off in your office. I didn't bother checking to see what it was."

I felt a smile creep up on my face.

"Wait, who's Percy?" Malcom asked.

"Oh, he's a client of ours... But it seems like he has a little crush on Annabeth!" My mother said, which surprised me because last I checked she was totally against the idea of me even talking to Percy.

"Mom! He's just a friend... And I thought you hated him." I said, my cheeks red.

She sighed. "I did some thinking... And he doesn't seem that bad. If you like him, then it's okay. Just be careful, okay?" she said, then she left my office, without letting me answer. I stood there stunned, while Malcom just glanced around confused.

PAGE BREAK!

Malcom and I were eating lunch, laughing, and acting like siblings-in other words, fighting over childish things.

"Malcom, get your own pen! You can't use mine!" I whined, while he just stuck his tongue out at me. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Huh.. I didn't a meeting for about 20 minutes.

"Come in!" I said. The door opened to reveal a black haired beauty.

"Percy, you're early!" _Not like I'm gonna complain about that..._I thought.

"Yeah... our meeting is soon, and I just wanted to stop by and see how you were doing." He said. He looked nervous, but I don't know why.

"Well, come on in! Uh, Percy, this is my brother Malcom. Malcom, this is Percy." I could see Percy's face change when I said 'brother'. He seemed relieved, but maybe I was wrong.

Malcom seemed a little hesitant, but he shook Percy's hand. "This is the guy that sent you flowers?" he asked. Percy's face lit up when he heard that.

"Oh, you got them? I didn't know they would be here already." He said, smiling.

I giggled. As I did so, Malcom looked at me like I was insane. Probably because he hasn't heard me giggle since I was 10. "Uh... Annabeth? Can I speak to you for a second?" Malcom asked.

We walked out of the office, and after I closed the door, I turned to look at Malcom.

"You really like this guy, huh?" he asked.

I blushed. I forgot how good Malcom was at reading me.

"Maybe. But, if it's anything, it's just a little crush... I mean I just met him yesterday!" I said, more to reassure myself rather than him.

Malcom grinned. "Uhuh, sure. But you really should take Mom's advice, okay?" He said, then walked away, to go catch up with mom.

I re-entered my office, to see Percy standing there awkwardly shuffling his feet.

"Uh.. Sorry about that. So, what did you want to talk about?" I asked.

"Oh, well I was going to see if maybe you wanted to go to lunch with me, but I can see you're busy..." he trailed off.

"Yeah, sorry about that. It was kind of an unexpected visit. And, um... I think we should just... take it slow, okay? I mean, we just did meet yesterday..."

He smiled, but I could tell he was sad. Even though I barely knew him, that was definitely one of the hardest things I've ever had to say.

"But... Since you're here... You're more than welcome to stay for lunch."

PAGE BREAK!

Lunch with Percy was filled with laughter. And the meeting went very smoothly. Athena and Posiedon got along better than expected, but they still disagreed on a lot of things.

Right now, Malcom and I were heading to my apartment on the way back from dinner.

"THALIA, I'M HOME!" I shouted. "And I brought a guest!"

"Oh, is it that cute coffee guy?" She said, before she actually saw who it was. My face flushed crimson.

"Oh, hey Malcom. Haven't seen you in a while!" She said, while giving him a half-hearted hug. Malcom just rolled his eyes.

"Hey Thals." he replied casually.

"WELL... This is boring... Come on let's go find something to do! I said, dragging them to the couch. We all plopped down, and decided to play a drinking game. I don't know why or how the idea came up, and I definitely don't know why I agreed to it (it WAS a Tuesday, and I have work tomorrow!) but it happened. And it did not end pretty.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

You know whats even worse than mondays? Hangovers. My head felt fuzzy. And dizzy. And I had a horrible headache. As I became conscious, I realised I was lying on my armchair. Upside down. I slowly turned myself around, and took in my surroundings. Thalia was sprawled across the couch, and Malcom was curled up on the coffee table. I looked at the clock; 11:30.

Wait, 11:30?! I'm late for work! I've already missed two meetings... Including the one with Percy. I scrambled to my room. I took one look in the mirror and almost fainted. I looked absolutely horrid. I decided it wouldn't hurt anyone if I took a shower before I left.

PAGE BREAK!

I came into my office to see my enraged mother staring me down.

"Where have you been?! You missed some VERY important meetings. You've let me down, Annabeth,"

That was something I never wanted to hear.  
"I'm sorry mom, We got distracted last night-well the details aren't important but I'm here now! I'm so sorry It'll never happen again though I promise!" I rambled on.

"Annabeth. Just... Get to work." she said, walking away.

I plopped down in my chair, massaging my temples from my still-pounding headache. I worked on auto-pilot, rushing from client to client, blueprint to blueprint, trying To recover for the morning. It was around 5 o'clock when there was a knock at my door.

"Come in." I said.

The door opened, and I saw Percy's head poke in, then he stepped inside while closing the door, a grin on his face.

I couldn't keep the smile that spread across my face away. "Percy! What are you doing here?"

"I didn't get to see you at the meeting and... I don't know... I missed you." He said, looking down shyly. His blush made me blush... It was like a chain reaction.

"Well, I was just about to leave anyways, so maybe we could hang out?"

He nodded eagerly, and wrapped his arm loosely around my waist as we walked out. I saw my mother look at us curiously, but I decided to ignore her.

For a while we just wandered the streets of New York; our arms would brush each other, sending tingles up and down my arms. Finally, we settled on a cute little Chinese restaurant.

"So, why weren't you there today?" he asked.

I immediately blushed. "Well... Uh yesterday, Malcom, my roommate and I, uh... May have gotten a little uh... Drunk..."

Percy started laughing at he. And he wouldn't stop. "Percy, stop! Everyone is staring!" I said, lightly hitting his arm.

"I'm sorry... It's-it's just you don't seem to be the kind of person to get drunk!"

I grimaced. "I know. They may have asked me to do a drinking competition... And I'm a very competitive person."

He smiled at that.

I slammed my apartment door closed-reminiscing in the moments I shared with Percy-there was just something about him that dragged me in, and I couldn't stop thinking about him. As I came to my senses, I took a look around the room. Thalia was eating chips while watching t.v.-her definition of multitasking-while Malcom was in the kitchen rummaging through our pantry, making a complete mess. They hadn't even attempted to clean up anything from last night.

Thalia glanced in my direction. "Oh good. You're here. We ran out of food." What a great welcome home.

I snorted at her. I was not in the mood to be dealing with two hungover, grumpy, lazy people. "You have feet. Use them." I said, taking off my heels.

Malcom groaned from the kitchen. "I'm HUNGRYYY!" They sounded like 5 year old kids.

"Well then why didn't you guys go buy food? There's a supermarket right down the street, and you guys were home all day." They stared at me like I was insane.

Why do I have to do all the work in this house? I thought, as I grumbled my way to my room to change out of my work clothes.

A few minutes later, I left the apartment in the exact same state. Thalia munching on greasy chips while watching The Real Housewives of Orange County, and Malcom grumbling about how people should really be more considerate to their guests, and make sure they have food in the house. Well it's not like you TOLD me you were coming... I thought.

I slowly strolled through the streets, making my way towards the supermarket. My mood had gone from euphoric to blisteringly mad in the matter of seconds. I walked through the automatic doors, my yoga pants dragging on the ground. I slowly made my way up and down each and every isle, stalling as much as I could. It had been a good thirty minutes by the time I got to the checkout.

The cashier, David, had seen me around before and decided it would be a good time to try and score a date.

"Hey, it's Annabelle, right?" Strike 1.

I grimaced. I absolutely hated it when people got my name wrong. "Actually, it's Annabeth." I replied dryly.

"Oh, sorry. I guess I was just so distracted by you that I got a little confused." Flattery will get you nowhere. I decided to try and ignore him, but he wasn't going to give up.

"So, uh... what brings you here?" Strike 2. Was he really THAT stupid?

I stared at him blankly. "It's a grocery store... I came to get my groceries." This guy must be really desperate.

"Oh... uh right." For the next few seconds, he shut up. I thought he had finally got the message, but apparently not.

Right as he was bagging my last items, he said "My shift ends at 9, which is only an hour away. Maybe you'd wanna wait, and we could... continue this... somewhere else?" he said with a cheeky smile.

"Continue what? Putting food into paper bags? There is nothing to continue, so if you wouldn't mind, I have somewhere to be. So thanks, for wasting my time. Have a nice night." I said snarkily, grabbing my bags and walking out the door.

Man, had my day gone from good in bad fast.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

"Okay, so here are the final blueprints for your headquarters." I said as I carefully handed the blueprints to Poseidon.

It had been about 2 months since I started this project. It was honestly the best building I've ever designed. It was a sleek, tall, modern skyscraper. The whole building would be made of reflective glass, so that it's like a mirror on the outside, but windows on the inside. I think I put so much effort into it because it was for Percy.

Well, technically, it was for Percy's dad, but Percy was still an executive at Trident Inc.

I had grown very close to Percy over the last 2 months. We spent a lot of time together, and we're always texting each other. We've become the best of friends. A moment doesn't go by when I'm not thinking about him.

In fact, we're planning on going to the movies tonight, after we go out to dinner... on a date. A real date. He had been dropping hints that he had wanted something more than just a friendship for a while, but I was reluctant because I didn't want to rush into things. I finally said yes though, and I know it was the right decision. Percy is a great guy, and I know he won't hurt me.

If anything, I'll be the one to hurt him. And that's what I'm afraid of.

I don't want to commit to something I'm not ready for. And I'm not sure I'm ready for this. But we agreed to take things slow, because Percy knows that.

Me and Thalia decided to go shopping for a new dress for tonight. We went to the boutique that Silena owns. Both her and Piper were standing behind the counter, chatting when we got there.

When Silena noticed us, she practically sprinted over to us.

"GIRLS! I haven't seen you in forever! How are you?"

"We're great, thanks for asking! In fact, we came here because Annabeth scored herself a hot date!" Thalia said, while I glared at her.

Silena's eyes widened, while Piper rushed over when she heard.

"Really?! Is it with that guy you came in here with before? It is isn't it? Oh, I knew you two would get together at some point! You two are positively adorable together! We HAVE to find the perfect outfit for you! OH! I know just what to get!" Piper said, all in one breath, before rushing to the back of the store, leaving me confused and dazed.

Silena, Thalia and I idled while waiting for Piper to get back.

"So... what is he like?" Silena asked.

My face brightened and my lips uncontrollably formed a smile.

"He's great-funny, charming, caring-everything you could ask for in a guy." I said, beaming.

Suddenly Piper rushed back into the room with a handful of clothes in her hands.

The outfit looked amazing. It was a deep, burgundy colored dress that ended in the middle of my thighs. It had a crochet, daisy design on the top. There was a daisy chain cutout detailing at the waist. I wore it with a pair of mustard colored tights. For shoes, I wore a pair of crochet slouch boots with some cream colored socks. (A/N: Dress: Free People, Fitted With Daisies Dress. Shoes: Free People, Crochet Slouch Boot. Look them up, or just leave it to your imagination! (: )

I left my hair down, long and curly. I wore a pair of small, silver earrings.

"It's perfect! Casual, but dressy at the same time." "You look gorgeous!" "Percy is going to be absolutely stunned!" The other girls gushed as I stepped out of the dressing room.

************

"Wow, Annabeth... you look... amazing." Percy said, jaw to the floor, when i opened the door.

"Thanks. You don't look so bad yourself." I said, while smiling widely.

"Shall we go?" He asked, giving me his hand.

"Sure." I said, grabbing his hand, while closing the door.

When we got into the car, I turned on the radio. Music flowed through the speakers, shaking the car to the beat.

I slowly started humming along to the song playing.

"Take me by the tongue and I'll know you, kiss me till you're drunk and I'll show you..."

Suddenly Percy burst out yelling:

"I GOT THEM MOVES LIKE JAGGER! I GOT THEM MOVES LIKE JAGGER!"

He was also attempting to dance while driving.

I laughed at his crazy energy, but joined in on his little concert.

Soon, we were out of breath, and at the restaurant. We laughed for a bit, before heading inside.

"Singing can really make you hungry!" Percy said jokingly.

"yeah, no kidding! I'm exhausted! Let's eat!" I said, excitedly.

***

We decided on seeing Silver Linings Playbook, and it was wonderful. It was funny and meaningful all at the same time. We were both laughing as we walked out of the theatre, reminiscing in all the good parts of the movie.

"Wow, that was really great. I'm really glad we did this." I said to him, my eyes gleaming and smile shining.

"I'm really glad, too."

We stood staring at each other in the middle of the sidewalk, both of us smiling goofily. The next thing I know, his lips are on mine, his arms are wrapped tightly around my waist. My hands are entangled in his hair, running my fingers through his ebony hair. As cliche as it sounds, fireworks were going off in my head. I could feel the passerbys staring at us, before rushing past us. I didn't care though-all that mattered was Percy.

We had to break apart for breath. He looked into my eyes, green on grey. It was magical. I didn't want this moment to end. I could see a smile creep up onto his face.

"Maybe we shouldn't be standing in the middle of the sidewalk right now. I don't think people really appreciate this..." he said.

I nodded, but didn't want to let go. He didn't move either.

Slowly, we released each other, and just held hands. We headed to the car, and he drove me back to my apartment.

*****

The elevator ride was quiet, but comfortable. Percy had his arm wrapped around my waist, and my head was resting on his shoulder. I closed my eyes, drinking in the amazing feeling I was getting just by standing next to him.

The quiet ding of the elevator brought be back to reality.  
We slowly walked to my room.

"Thanks for coming with me tonight." Percy said.

"Thanks for inviting me. I had an amazing time." I said, as we approached my door.

"I really like you, Annabeth. Like, a lot." I smiled.

"I really like you, too." I said, smiling at him.

His face inched towards mine, slowly but surely. I leaned forward too, glancing at his soft, supple lips.

I closed my eyes, and our lips met. My lips tingled at the feeling. Percy placed his hands on my waist, lightly. I wrapped my arms around his shoulder. His tongue danced across my lip, and I opened my lips. Our tongues fought for dominance, and I have to say, it was a fair fight. As things got more intense, Percy pushed me into the wall. We continued making out, not caring if someone walked by.

Suddenly, the door to our apartment opened.

"What the hell is- oh. oh... oh my god... Sorry!" Thalia said, stuttering, before slamming the door shut.

Percy had pushed me right into the doorbell, and I hadn't even noticed.

We stood there, with our arms still wrapped around each other, staring at the spot Thalia had just stood seconds ago.

"Uh... well... I guess that's the cue for me to go..." Percy said reluctantly.

I didn't want him to go, but he was right.

"Um... yeah... I'll see you tomorrow?" I said.

"Yeah. I'll get there before the meeting so we can have some time to ourselves." He said smiling.

"Okay. Thank you again, for tonight." I said, smiling. He gave me one last kiss, and I opened the door and slipped inside.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Reviews are greatly appreciated, and so are suggestions! :)**


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